After campaigning for a grudge match against hated rival Nick Diaz, "Mayhem" instead looks to be close to a rubber match against fellow Strikeforce middleweight contender Tim Kennedy when the promotion makes its March 5 debut in Columbus, Ohio.

Sources close to one of the fight camps alerted MMAmania.com to the pending match-up earlier today.

The mouthy middleweight mischief-maker split a pair of bouts against Kennedy when they threw hands at Extreme Challenge 50 back in 2003 (L) and HDNet Fights "Reckless Abandon" nearly four years later (W).